Curse you, Wrigley's Gum!

Why? Because I bought a package of Juicy Fruit over my lunch hour, an old favorite. And as I stuffed the first stick into my mouth, something in the back of my head said "Read the ingredients!" And there it was.

Aspartame. Dire poison hidden well down under the other sweeteners. I spit the gum into my hand and threw it out. I like my color vision, thank you. There's probably not enough to give me a full migraine, but I know that there's probably enough in a stick to futz with my color vision, if I actually chewed it. I really don't like the effect of wearing dark glasses, which has come from minor amounts I've gotten by accident, like a swig of soft drink, or a few spoonfuls of yogurt. Or losing the color vision entirely, like I did the night the punch at a party turned out to be Crystal Lite.

WHY, I want to know, do they even put it in stuff that has natural sweeteners? (Well, depending on whether you think high-fructose corn syrup is "natural.") I know it's a by-product of some other chemical process, so my suspicion is that companies are being cut a serious deal to include aspartame in their products, so that the industry doesn't have to just dump it.

I used to love Juicy Fruit Gum. But now it's on the no-no list. I wonder if I should write a letter to Wrigley's and say I used to love their gum, but now I will no longer be buying it, and tell them why. But hey, I'm just a small consumer--why should they care? As I say, they're probably being cut a deal by Monsanto.